Genus : Cirrospilus Westwood, 1832

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Overview

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Identification


Diagnosis

Fore wing with submarginal vein (SMV) with 3 or more setae dorsally. Postmarginal vein (PMV) present: at most 1.25 times longer than stigmal vein, often equal or shorter.
Scape slender and not exceeding apex of vertex. Club 3-segmented. Funicle 2-segmented in both sexes with usually 1-2 anelli.
Fronto-facial suture adjacent anterior ocellus; usually also a transverse short groove from eye margin to scrobal cavity about halfway between ocellus and torulus. Malar sulcus present and straight. In species of Cirrospilus " sensu strictu" the vertex is not vaulted: i.e. extends less than 1/3 of eye length above the eye. However, in the Cirrospilus "variegatus group" the vertex is vaulted: i.e. extends more than 1/3 of eye length above the eye.
Notauli almost always complete to posterior margin of mesoscutum (however, the one Southeast Asian species included in this key, C. ambiguus, is the only species with notauli not reaching posterior margin of mesoscutum, but curving and extending to anterior margin of axilla).Propleura separated posteriorly and not covering prosternum. Scutellum with 2 pair of setae and with 1 pair of longitudinal grooves, although these may be sometimes faint and difficult to see. Propodeum usually with median carina, with or without plicae (plc). Petiole not distinct. Gaster with cercal setae short and subequal in length.
Coloration variable, from dark to metallic to non-metallic and yellow.

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Superfamily : Chalcidoidea
Family : Eulophidae
Subfamily : Eulophinae
Tribe : Cirrospilini

Classification

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Overview

Cirrospilus contains about 130 species, and is cosmopolitan in distribution (Noyes, 2002; 2003). Species are quite variable in biology, but as a general rule they are external parasitoids of hosts concealed in plant tissue, such as gall formers and leafminers. A few are egg parasitoids. Some are hyperparasitoids.

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Identification

Cirrospilus is included in recent generic keys to eulophids for Australasia (Boucek, 1988) and North America (Schauff et al, 1997), and it is included in a web-based key to all Eulophidae genera which attack leafmining Agromyzidae (Reina & La Salle, 2003). Keys to species of this genus are available for the European (Boucek, 1959), British (Askew, 1968) and Chinese species (Zhu et al., 2002).

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